(Inspired by Aural's thread.)

It's always cool to see a band you love in the close-up confines of your favorite (or not favorite) record store. Who've you seen like that? How was it? Did you talk to the band at all? What were your impressions?

In no order, here are a few that I've seen:

Cornershop
When they werte touring on Woman's Gotta Have It, they played a show at the lamentably defunct Quaker Goes Deaf on North Ave. Only played 2 songs, but one of them was a 15-minute version of "Juliander Shear". They were just as aloof in those little confines as they always were on stage.

Neutral Milk Hotel
Played about 45 minutes at Reckless Records on Broadway, just before Aeroplane came out (or maybe just after). Seemed like a bunch of regular (albeit kinda goofy) guys and were very gracious and approachable - Mangum, too. I called out a request for "Song Against Sex" and they played it, despite not having the trombone with them. (Spillane approximated the part on flugelhorn.) It was a lot of fun and the best in-store I have ever seen. I also got to say "hey" to Jeff and Scott. Very nice and cool, as far as I could tell from that brief meeting. Reminded me of my own friends.

Richard Thompson
Played for 1/2-hour at the Tower records on Clark St. and then signed copies of his (then) new record -- 1994. He was funny and gracious and took a few requests -- (I remember "Valerie" in particular). It was a bit too crowded to really get close to him and chat, but he was patient and hung out for a while. Felt like a formal book signing more than anything else, however. Still, excellent to see him so close-up. He is fuck-all on that acoustic!!!

I had to endure an Indigo Girls in-store once. That was fairly horrendous--should've gotten workers comp for that one.

The Frames/Mark Geary - spoke to all of them, but Mark was the sweetie pie of the bunch. Have seen the Frames do an in-store twice now.

Longwave - seemed like decent, down to earth guys.

The Futureheads - they did an acoustic in-store, which was... interesting.

In the mid 90's I just happened to be in Tower when Brian Setzer was making an in store appearance with his orchestra and while I never had an interest in buying any of his albums I have to admit it was swingin'

Steve

Pere Ubu was supposed to do an in-store at Plan 9 in Richmond, however they stopped by and shook the managers hand, had a few words and left.

I was so excited about it, too.

at the defunct 45 Degrees, Austin, Texico:

an intimate evening w/ Yo La Tengo - the longest in-store endured (approx. 1'45"), and at times as interesting as the above Indigo Girls performance. Ira was a right cock that night, but they managed to play through his assface behavior and deliver spot-on acoustic versions of 'Cherry Chapstick' & 'Stockholm Syndrome' to the delight of the teens in the audience. 'Yellow Serong' was the actual highlight.

Destroyer w/ Frog Eyes - this flimsy idea had to've been slapped together by the makers of Goober Grape. It was a shame to watch some of my favorite Canadians struggle to find any medium. Instead, the entire 34" was a barrage of unrehearsed noise that resembled, I think, Stray Blues. On paper, this had all the makings to be a very special performance. Unfortunately, creative juices didn't jibe and proved to be one of the weakest Destroyer appearances to date.

Sufjan Stevens - this man-child was born to play the in-store performance. The band made fantastic use of little space & acoustics & the lingering odor of mold; they formed a semi-circle, set up a panel behind to reflect sound (?) and lit apple pie-scented candles. Very little chit-chat & a whole lotta Seven Swans made it a memorable experience. He went off on one during 'Sister', noodling & tinkering for nearly eight minutes before the band brought it together for one last crescendo... and splat! It was over. Best in-store since Old 97s one year earlier.

Ted Leo - right after the release of Tyranny of Distance, I saw them at Gate City Noise in Greensboro. Good show, but horrible setup for a instore. Gate City Noise has gotten lots of good acts to play instores, actually.

Matt Pond PA - not a favorite, but checked him out at Gate City Noise and it was also great.

Superchunk - right after the release of Here's to Shutting Up, they played at a record store in Raleigh (can't remember the name). Also a very good show, albeit fairly brief. I really couldn't see them either, since it was crowded.

Been to lots and met the band / artist each time. To name a few:

Bay City Rollers
Dennis Wilson
Franz Ferdinand
Sluts of Trust
Kaiser Chiefs
Henry Rollins Band
Spoon
Futureheads
Ry Cooder
Lacuna Coil
The Dears
Snow Patrol
Soundtrack of Our Lives
Solomon Burke
The Sights

saw Minus 5 w/ Peter Buck and Buffalo Tom - only in stores I have attended.

the omega men @ tower, philly
keane @ virgin, nyc
bobby conn @ tower, chicago
spoon @ tower, chicago

none of them were great, but i don't regret seeing any either.

Joss Stone - Very talented
The Bravery - Complete Suck

Tapping the Vein. E-metal along the veins of godhead, NIN, et al. For atmosphere, the lights were a little too bright for something like this, which dampened things, but I was so blown away, that I went and bought everything they put out.

Some Jimmy Buffet wanna-be -- sucked.

Based on my experience, Pedro The Lion in-store is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than Pedro The Lion in concert. It's not so much that Bazan and Co. sucked in concert, it's more that they KILLED in-store. In fact, that in-store was better than most concerts I've attended.

Rilo Kiley @ Amoeba - not bad, but I'm not a huge Rilo Kiley fan.

Spoon @ Amoeba - great set. Got the CD signed. What a glorious day.

The only band I've seen perform instore was Travis and I apparently won some drawing and got to sit right in front of the band, instead of behind the roped off area like all the other schmucks. It was a decent show.

this is interesting because i went to a rilo kiley show last year and actually disliked them going into it, but walked out a fan. then again, there's that whole in-store thing whereas they had more than an hour to impress me at the show.

never

I've seen a bunch at Amoeba but no real strong memories. Not that the performances weren't good but its amoeba and I can help myself from continuing my shopping. I'm quite sure I've pissed some people off who've gotten upfront early to see their favorite act and here I come butting my way through to puruse the Psyche pop section near the stage.